UKRAINE : KIEV
Kiev,
situated on the Dnipro River
, is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north
central part of the country on the Dnieper river. In 2003, Kiev
officially had 2,642,486 inhabitants.
Ancient Kievan Rus, which reached its greatest period of ascendancy
during the 11th and 12th centuries, was a center of trade routes between
the Baltic and the Mediterranean. Built on a series of wooded hills
rising majestically above the river, Kiev’s skyline is dotted with
dozens of golden church domes that have come to symbolise the city. The
drama of the Orange Revolution and the subsequent premiership of Viktor
Yushchenko brought international headlines and demonstrated the
outward-looking course Ukraine has set itself on.
During its history, Kiev, one of the oldest cities in the Eastern
Europe, passed through several stages of great prominence and relative
obscurity. Considered founded in the fifth century, a trading post in
the land of Early East Slavs, the city gradually acquired eminence as
the center of the East Slavic civilization, in the tenth to twelfth
centuries a political and cultural capital of Rus', a medieval East
Slavic state.
Kiev suffered severely during World War II, and many irreplaceable
architectural and art treasures were destroyed. Earlier in the 1930's
the Soviet authorities systematically destroyed many churches. Extensive
restoration has revived much of historic Kiev. The city hit the
headlines in April 1986, when the nuclear reactor at nearby Chernobyl
exploded, but scientists generally agree that the city is now safe from
radiation effects.
Kiev’s Old Town and its modern centre are both on the west side of the
river. The Upper part is known as the Old Town. It iscentred around St
Sophia’s Cathedral and the northern part of vulitsya Volodymyrska; north
of the Old Town is an area called Podil (or Lower Town), the city’s
historic port and merchants’ centre, now home to lively galleries, cafés
and a few museums.
The modern center with surviving parts of the old city are on the hilly
west, or right bank, of the Dnipro River. The main street, Khreshchatik,
runs between two steep hills. Parallel about half a kilometer west, is
vulytsya Volodymyrska, the main street of the Old Kyiv area (Staryj
Kyiv). From the north end of Khreshchatik, vulytsya Hrushevskoho rises
southeast along a ridge to the Caves Monastery at Perchersk. Woods and
parks cover most of the steep right-bank slopes. The capital's newer
sections stretch out on the flat left bank. These are characterized by
large housing developments and industrialized neighborhoods.
Administratively, Kiev is a national-level subordinated municipality,
independent from surrounding Kiev Oblast. Kiev is an important
industrial, scientific, educational and cultural center of Eastern
Europe. It is home to many high-tech industries, higher education
institutions, world-famous historical landmarks. The city has an
extensive infrastructure and highly developed system of public
transport, including a Kiev Metro system.
